by Morgana Best
“He’s leaving the winery soon,” she said to us, after she hung up.
“Why are you so sure it’s something Lucas should have handled?” I asked them.
“Well, Collier was a vampire, of course,” Aunt Agnes said, but I didn’t miss the look that passed between the other two aunts.
“But I know that Cleaners don’t have to cover up all vampire or Shifter murders,” I said, “only those murders actually done by Shifters or vampires.”
“Are you overlooking the note?” Aunt Agnes asked me.
I bit my lip. She was right, of course. There was surely no mundane reason for someone to murder a vampire and threaten Aunt Agnes. “So you haven’t seen this guy for years?” I asked her.
Aunt Agnes’s eyes shifted from side to side, which I knew by now was a sure sign that she was lying. “We dated hundreds and hundreds of years ago,” she said. “I’ve dated many men over the centuries, so he was nothing out of the ordinary.”
That didn’t exactly answer my question, but I knew better than to press her on it.
“We’re going to have to tell Valkyrie,” Aunt Dorothy said with a sigh. She stood up and retrieved her knitting from a large mahogany chiffonier, almost knocking over an unwieldy and oversized ruby glass epergne in the process.
I sat on the edge of my seat. “Tell me what?”
“Dorothy!” Agnes snapped.
“Collier was murdered, Agnes,” Dorothy said, her tone one of irritation, “and the note said you were next. It’s quite obvious what this is all about. You’re going to have to tell her sooner or later.”
“Now that you’ve opened your big mouth, I’ll have to, I suppose,” Aunt Agnes said through clenched teeth.
“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?” I drained the rest of my Witches’ Brew in one gulp, realising that I was about to get one more big surprise. And just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder.
Aunt Agnes sighed loudly and did five rows of knitting, before Dorothy prompted her. Agnes slammed her knitting down and looked up at me. “There’s a Council. A powerful vampire Council. I’m part of it.”
That didn’t tell me much. “Care to elaborate?” I asked her.
Maude pursed her lips. “Your Aunt Agnes is part of a powerful vampire Council. Dorothy and I know about it, of course. However, we’re not on the Council.”
I was intrigued. “What does this Council do? Is it like the ruling body? I mean, do you run the vampire world or something?”
It was clear to me that the aunts were decidedly uncomfortable. “We make matters of policy concerning vampires, yes,” Aunt Agnes said. “You must keep this to yourself, Valkyrie. No one can know I’m a member of the Council.”
I thought it over. “Is there a Shifter Council, too?”
The aunts all shrugged. “Probably,” Aunt Agnes said. “There could be more than one, who knows? That’s not our business.”
“So what do Council members do?” I asked Agnes.
“Like I said, we make matters of policy concerning vampires.”
“You’re not explaining it very well, Agnes,” Maude said. “You’re confusing the poor girl.”
Agnes waved one hand at her. “If you think you can do a better job, go right ahead.”
“Well, I don’t want to sound elitist,” Maude began, “but the Council members are the elite of the vampire world.”
“That does sound elitist, you’ve got to admit,” Dorothy said, crossing to the window to look behind the curtains.
Maude huffed. “It’s like a hierarchy. You could think of your Aunt Agnes as a Jedi.”
Aunt Agnes groaned loudly. “A Jedi? Are you kidding me, Maude? That’s your way of explaining things to Valkyrie? Now you have her thoroughly confused.”
She was right—I was thoroughly confused. “So how does someone get onto the Council? Do you get voted in or something?” I asked Agnes.
Maude shook her head. “Weren’t you listening, Valkyrie? I just said Agnes was like a Jedi. Jedis don’t get voted in.”
Agnes shook her finger at her. “Don’t you ever say the word Jedi again. If I ever hear you use the word Jedi again, why I’ll…”
I thought it prudent to interrupt at this point. “If someone isn’t voted onto the Council, how do they become a Council member?”
Aunt Dorothy took one more peek behind the curtains, and then returned to her seat. “It’s hereditary. The position on the Council is hereditary. It has been for centuries. That’s why it’s such a secret.”
I was still somewhat confused. “What’s the secret? The fact that there is a Council?”
All three aunts shook their heads. “No, of course that’s not a secret,” Aunt Agnes said wearily. “The identity of the Council members is a secret.”
Aunt Dorothy interrupted her. “It’s a position of wealth and power,” she explained, “and after several Council members were murdered—this was hundreds of years ago, mind you—the Council decided to keep the identity of their members a deep secret.”
I was beginning to catch on. “So now that the man outside was murdered, his heir will take his place?”
The aunts all nodded vigorously.
“And Aunt Agnes, if someone murdered you, who would be next in line? Aunt Dorothy or Aunt Maude?”
“Don’t you worry yourself about that,” Aunt Agnes said. “The detectives will be inside in a moment. Just tell the truth about finding the body, Valkyrie, apart from the fact that you know his identity and that I dated him hundreds of years ago.”
I wasn’t about to be deflected that easily. “Who’s next in line to you, Aunt Agnes?”
Dorothy and Maude stared at each other. I pressed on. “Aunt Agnes, who is it?”
Aunt Agnes went white. “Valkyrie, there’s something you don’t know.” She hesitated.
I knew this wasn’t going to be good.
CHAPTER 4
“She’ll find out eventually,” Aunt Dorothy said.
“Loose lips sink ships,” Aunt Agnes snapped. “No one ever finds out anything if loudmouths don’t blab about it.”
“What will I find out?” I said, trying to hang on to what little vestiges of patience I had left.
“That Aunt Agnes isn’t your aunt,” Aunt Dorothy said. “You tell her, Agnes.”
“I think you already did,” Aunt Agnes said through clenched teeth. “Valkyrie, that is correct. I’m not your aunt. I am, in fact, your great great great great great grandmother.”
“I think you calculated several of those greats wrongly,” Maude pointed out. “You need more.”
The aunts’ bickering was irritating at the best of times, so I hurried to forestall the impending escalation. I held up my hand. “All I want to know is, who’s next in line to the Council if you were to be murdered, Aunt Agnes.” I realised my words were blunt, but too late, they were already out of my mouth.
Aunt Agnes hesitated, but once again, Dorothy spoke. “Your mother is next in line.”
I was shocked. “Does this have anything to do with my parents’ disappearance?”
The aunts all hurried to reassure me. “Of course not,” they said in unison. They weren’t entirely convincing, and I suspected there was more to it. I equally knew that I wouldn’t be able to get any information out of them if they really didn’t want to give it to me.
I didn’t have a chance to pursue the matter, because the detectives marched into the room. Detective Oakes was the first to speak. “Did you know the victim?”
We all said that we didn’t. “The perpetrator appears to know you, Mrs Jasper,” the detective said to Aunt Agnes.
“Why would you say that?” Aunt Agnes did her best to look confused.
“I believe you have read the note.” The detective’s manner was abrupt.
“Oh yes.” Aunt Agnes plastered a false smile on her face. “Yes, that’s most puzzling.”
“Was he expected today?” Detective Mason asked.
Aunt Agnes’s confusion
appeared genuine this time. “Expected? No, I’ve just said that we didn’t know him.”
Detective Oakes’s exasperation was evident. “Bookings, that is, Mrs Jasper. Was he booked in for today?”
The aunts exchanged glances. “I’m not sure when he was booked in,” Aunt Agnes said, shooting Dorothy a significant look.
“Yes, I remember he booked over the phone,” Aunt Maude said, raising her eyes towards the ceiling, “but I don’t remember whether he was due today or not. I think he was. I must consult the book to see if I wrote it in. Perhaps I didn’t make an entry, after all. I really must be more careful. Is his cottage ready, Valkyrie?”
Apparently, the aunts were faster on the uptake than I was, because it took me a moment or two to catch on. The detective’s question as to the victim’s booking had clearly given the aunts the idea to say that he was a guest. I would have to play along with it. It would be less suspicious if a guest was murdered. That at least would give him a reason to be on the premises. “It hardly matters whether his cottage is ready or not, Aunt Maude,” I said, “seeing that he won’t be able to use it.”
Aunt Maude slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, silly me. It’s the stress. I need some more medicinal alcohol.” She nodded to the bottle of Witches’ Brew.
Detective Oakes turned his attention to me. “Miss Jasper, you’ll have to come down to the station to make a witness statement, if you would be so kind.” It was clear that his request was a demand more than anything.
“Sure. When would you like me to do that?”
“In the next few hours, please.”
I nodded.
He flipped open a notepad and hovered his pen over it. “Give me your account of what happened.”
I thought back. “I was following the cat around the side of the building, when I saw a body on the porch. I hurried over, and immediately called emergency, but then he died.” Because I knew he was about to ask, I added, “I didn’t touch anything.”
The detective flipped a page. “How many guests do you have at the moment?”
“Lucas O’Callaghan, the regular,” I said, hoping my voice wasn’t shaking at the mention of Lucas’s name—what was wrong with me? I wasn’t a schoolgirl, for goodness’s sake—“and Barnabas Butler. He’s a watercolourist.”
Oakes’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s a what?”
“A watercolourist,” I repeated. “You know, he’s an artist, in watercolours.”
“Is that what he does for a living?” Oakes asked, scribbling away in his notepad.
“I’d say not. He doesn’t believe anyone should earn a living from creative processes.”
Oakes snorted rudely. “He’s not a lawyer then!” he snapped.
I was confused. “What do you mean?”
Oakes scowled. “Some defence lawyers earn their living from creative processes.” He must have noticed the confused look on my face, because he added, “They’re liars!” Before I could respond, he turned to my aunts. “And when did you all arrive on the scene?”
“Dorothy, Maude, and I came out together when we heard Valkyrie scream,” Aunt Agnes said. “Our cleaning lady, Bella Barker, was the first out there, and we arrived seconds behind her.” I wasn’t sure I had screamed, but I was hardly likely to say that.
Oakes looked up from scribbling in his notepad. “And where is Mrs Barker now?”
“She’s in the kitchen, drinking tea. The poor thing,” Aunt Agnes added.
Oakes nodded to Mason, who disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. “First of all I’ll ask you to sign and date each individual account that I have written in my notepad—oh, and print your full name—and then I’d like you all to come down to the station to give witness statements,” Oakes said.
“Is that really necessary?” Aunt Agnes said. “Valkyrie was the one who found him. All we did was look out the door.”
Oakes waved a hand in dismissal. “Nevertheless, I’ll ask you all to come down to the station.”
Aunt Agnes acquiesced with a frown. “All right, if you insist.”
Detective Mason reappeared with Bella. “I’m taking Mrs Barker to the station to give her witness statement and then I’ll have an officer take her home,” he told Oakes.
Oakes nodded, and then turned back to the aunts. “Ladies, please don’t use your front door for the rest of the day. Forensics could be out there a little longer.” His words were punctuated by a loud crack of thunder, and the manor shook ever so slightly. “I’ll see you all later.” He nodded to each one of us in turn, and then took his leave by the front door, despite telling us not to use it.
Aunt Agnes hurried to her feet and bolted the door behind him. She turned around, and then clasped her throat. “Lucas! Where did you come from?”
“I was waiting for the police to leave,” Lucas said. “I came through the back door. I hope that was all right.”
Aunt Agnes ushered him into the room. My heart immediately set a-fluttering, as it always did when I saw Lucas. He headed straight for me. “Pepper, are you all right?”
“Yes,” I said, although I was aware that my voice was trembling. Aunt Dorothy must have noticed too, because she poured some more Witches’ Brew into my goblet. I took a gulp. It hadn’t really hit me yet, but I felt I would burst into tears at any minute.
Lucas turned to the aunts. “Agnes, you told me the note said that you were next?”
She nodded, and fidgeted in her seat.
“You do realise that you’re going to have to tell him, too?” Aunt Dorothy said.
Aunt Agnes’s face turned flame red, a colour matched only by her hair. “Dorothy, you have a loud mouth!”
“Tell me what?” Lucas said.
I leant back into the overstuffed velvet sofa. “Here we go again,” I said, earning a sharp look from Lucas. “He will have to know,” I added. “He is a Cleaner, and he is likely your best protection.”
Aunt Maude agreed with me. “Valkyrie’s right. He does need to know.”
Aunt Agnes sighed dramatically. “Why are you all ganging up on me? All right, if you must know, I am a Council member.”
Lucas’s jaw dropped open. “You! You’re a, a, Council, um, member…” he stammered. It took him a few moments to compose himself. “I never would have guessed.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, young man,” Aunt Agnes said snarkily.
“And there’s more,” I said. Aunt Agnes opened her mouth, but I beat her to it. “The victim was a member of the Council too, and Aunt Agnes’s ex-boyfriend.”
Aunt Dorothy tittered. “One of many.”
Aunt Agnes shot her a withering glare and then turned her attention to me. “You didn’t have to tell him that last part, Valkyrie.”
“To the contrary, it’s best that I know everything,” Lucas said firmly. “Actually, it’s all starting to make a little sense now.”
“What’s making sense?” Aunt Agnes snapped. Clearly, she didn’t like to be on the receiving end of a mystery.
“Scorpius Everyman,” Lucas began, but Aunt Maude interrupted.
“Do you think that Cleaner, I mean, that ex-Cleaner, Scorpius Everyman, murdered him?” she said. “He murdered those other people to make it look like Shifters did it, to turn the vampire population against Shifters. Surely you don’t think this is connected?”
Aunt Agnes paused, the wine bottle in midair hovering over a spare goblet next to Lucas. “Give the man a chance to speak, Maude.” She filled Lucas’s goblet.
He took a large gulp before speaking. “Scorpius Everyman is still on the run, but word has it he’s in Europe. As you know, Scorpius was part of a faction that wants to have shifters wiped out. Obviously, he was in it with several other people, and I suspect that this murder was done so that a member of that faction can get on the Council.”
Aunt Agnes tapped her chin. “So, do you think Scorpius and his associates want to get their own people on the Council by killing off current members who don’t adhere to their set of valu
es, if current members happen to have an heir who is on the faction’s side?”
Lucas nodded. “Exactly.”
“But then the murderer will be obvious, won’t they?” I said. “It’s whoever is next in line to the victim. That won’t be hard to solve.”
I was surprised by the immediate murmur of disagreement. “It’s going to be awfully hard to find out who is next in line to Collier,” Aunt Agnes said. “By law, six weeks have to pass before the new person comes forward to take their seat.”
I couldn’t see the problem, and said so. “Surely the person can be arrested in six weeks?” I said.
Lucas shook his head. “I’m afraid this case is out of my hands. This victim was murdered by mundane means, by a knife, so it has to be left to the police to solve.”
“Which is no doubt why he was murdered by a knife,” Aunt Agnes said.
“But can’t the Council arrest whoever takes his place in six weeks?” I asked her, pressing home my point.
“Not without proof,” Lucas said.
I held my hands in the air. “Hello! Someone gets murdered, and leaves a note saying Aunt Agnes is next. It’s obviously about getting on the Council.”
Lucas readily agreed. “Yes, it’s obvious, but it doesn’t mean there is anything we can do about it. Agnes, who is next in line to you? Not Pepper?”
I was touched by the concern evident in his voice.
“Valkyrie’s mother,” the aunts said in unison.
“And she’s missing.” Lucas said it as a statement, rather than a question. After a few moments, he spoke again. “Pardon the question, Agnes, but if anything were to happen to you, and with Pepper’s mother missing, would Pepper be next in line?”
My breath caught in my throat. I hadn’t considered that. To my relief, Agnes shook her head. “No, only if Valkyrie’s mother was pronounced dead. She’s officially missing, so the line of succession goes to her. With Valkyrie’s mother missing, Valkyrie is perfectly safe.”
